College to Launch STEM Career Tech Academy

January 9, 2023

Benjamin Franklin Cumming Institute of Technology announced a $1 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Education to launch a STEM Career Tech Academy. In partnership with the Dearborn STEM Academy and Cambridge Rindge and Latin, the STEM Career Tech Academy will focus on manufacturing, IT, and environmental and life science careers. The Academy will leverage existing Early College programs and includes National Grid, Rapid7, and Suffolk Construction as industry partners.

“We are thankful for this support from the state and partnership with Dearborn STEM Academy and Cambridge Rindge and Latin that allows us to continue to expand the educational pipeline and career opportunities for students interested in the STEM fields,” said Dr. Aisha Francis, President and CEO of Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology. “By providing more opportunities for students to gain relevant experience in these high-paying industries, we can strengthen the pipeline of workforce development in Massachusetts to ensure these growing industries are filled with a qualified and diverse workforce.”

“Dearborn STEM Academy is deeply committed to this work,” said Boston Plan for Excellence (BPE) Executive Director Jesse Solomon. “Our goal is for all Dearborn students to be engaged citizens prepared to enter a purposeful, wealth-building career six years after high school graduation, and to access the incredible STEM opportunities available to them here in Boston.”

STEM Tech Career Academies are an initiative of the Massachusetts Workforce Skills Cabinet and seek to align education, workforce, and economic development strategies across the state. The initiative is modeled after P-Tech, a grades 9-14 school model where students earn a high school diploma, an industry-recognized associate degree and gain relevant work experience in a growing field. Students completing a P-Tech program are typically provided with hiring preferences by participating employers.

“National Grid is committed to helping ensure a broader representation of Massachusetts students obtain support for a STEM-focused education and gain access to high-demand STEM careers like those found in the energy sector,” said Stephen Woerner, President of National Grid, New England. “This type of education, workforce, and economic development effort can impact students’ lives and that of their families in very meaningful, long-term ways, and we are excited to be [the college’s] industry partner.”

In addition to the clean energy sector, Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology prepares students for jobs in cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and automation technology, construction management, and other technical industries; and recently announced the development of a biotechnology associate degree program that will provide a “Scientist 1” level of training that includes the ability to perform routine scientific research tasks requiring the application of standard lab techniques, safety protocols and procedures.

About Boston Plan for Excellence and Dearborn STEM Academy

Boston Plan for Excellence (BPE) operates two Boston public schools: Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School and Dearborn STEM Academy, which form a PreK-12 STEM pathway for the Dudley neighborhood of Roxbury. BPE also runs Boston Teacher Residency, a clinical model for preparing teachers for the Boston Public Schools. Dearborn STEM Academy is a STEM Tech Career Academy and an Innovation Pathway school whose model ensures that all students, especially those under-represented in college and high skill, high demand careers, will have clear opportunities for success. Our program provides our students with access to STEM education aligned to industry skills and standards, matched with Early College and internship experiences that will help students transfer learned classroom skills into authentic college and career experiences.